Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Sebastian
“I t’s looking great, and I think that we picked the perfect angle for you,” I said as I helped Judy off the table.
She smiled, shy as ever, and ducked her head before we walked towards the mirror. Her shirt was tucked under her bra, careful about modesty, but still showing part of her new chest tattoo.
Tears sprang to her eyes and I held back a curse, realizing that I was slacking since I didn’t already have tissues ready.
Before I could think, Leo tossed me a box, and I handed over the tissues.
Judy smiled at me and took a tissue before wiping her eyes. “Sorry I’m a mess. But after so many years of this scar and hoping it would one day just go away if I used enough lotion and vitamin E and all those other creams, I’m proud of it. I wanted to show that it’s not just a part of me, but also something I overcame. Something I traveled through.”
I looked down at the crossing vines with jagged thorns and faded red, black, and multicolored roses, and nodded tightly. Judy had chest surgery more than once, and between the ports, and the surgery itself, her scars had been numerous. She hadn’t wanted to hide them completely, because like she said, they wouldn’t go away, so she had wanted to make them hers .
And I think we’d done that.
“It looks wonderful. Seriously, thank you, Sebastian.”
She reached out and squeezed my hand and I squeezed right back. “You came up with the idea, I just executed it.”
Judy just shook her head, wiped away more tears. “No, I said I sort of want to cover this scar, and I don’t know what I’m doing. I think I like plants . You did the rest. Seriously, thank you.”
“That looks amazing,” Leif said as he came to my side. “You did a fantastic job. Both of you. If you’re interested, we can take a few photos for you. And honestly, we’d love them for Sebastian’s book, and ours. We have an entire portfolio for Montgomery Ink Legacy.”
Judy swallowed hard and nodded. “Just don’t put my face. I don’t really like to be on camera that much.”
“We don’t have to take a picture at all,” I said honestly. Yeah, I liked showing off my work. It got me new clients and looking back at my art was good for me. But I never wanted to make people uncomfortable.
“No, I’m proud of the work, so do what you want, but just keep me private?”
“We can do that. We have social media like we said in the release form earlier, but we won’t put it on there.”
“If you want to showcase your work, you can, because I want to make sure you get amazing business because you deserve it. Just no faces.”
“That I can do.”
I whipped out my phone and smiled softly at Nora’s face on my lock screen.
Judy beamed. “Is that your little girl? She’s adorable.”
I looked up and nodded. “Light of my life and all that. She doesn’t go on social media either, so don’t worry, I get you.”
“It’s good to protect kids. They need it.” Judy looked around the shop, smiling. “Okay where do you want me?”
“Let’s go over here with the black backdrop. Lake likes to do social media correctly, so we actually have a little photo booth thing.”
Julie’s eyes widened. “Wow. You guys know what you’re doing.”
“Lake does,” Nick commented, as his client let out a deep laugh.
“And Nora helped, of course.”
“She is my favorite niece,” Leif said with a laugh. Since Nora was his only niece, the joke worked.
Judy frowned, looking between us. “I thought you two were cousins. Or wait, are you and Nick cousins?”
I just laughed and began to take photos. “Technically we’re cousins, but it’s easier just to say uncles and aunts with all of our kids. Don’t worry about the family tree. We don’t.”
I winked, which made Judy blush. “Well, your little girl and that little girl’s mom must be very blessed to be part of such a big family. You guys really get each other.” She smiled, and I felt that lump in my throat, ignoring the pressing looks from Leif and Nick. Judy thankfully didn’t seem to notice as we went through aftercare instructions.
Judy headed out, an appointment set for our next session. I wanted to see what it looked like once she wasn’t swollen, to see if it needed any additions, plus she wanted a wrist tattoo. I loved returning customers, because that meant I was doing something right.
I began to clean up my station, hurrying a bit.
“You okay?” Leif asked slowly, as he went through his notebook. He was purposely not looking at me as he said it, and I knew that was for a reason.
“I’m fine. I’m used to it.”
People didn’t automatically assume that I was a single father. It made sense, and it didn’t hurt as much anymore. Mostly because I didn’t let it.
“If you say so.”
“I say so.”
“What does your day look like tomorrow?” Leif asked, heading up to the front desk.
“I have two appointments, and then I need to drop off Nora. It’s their weekend.”
I tried to sound casual, but from the way that the guys looked at me, I knew it didn’t work.
“Really? I feel like you just did that.”
“It’s every other weekend. That’s what the courts say.”
I gritted my teeth, then gathered up my things. “Speaking of, I have to go pick up Nora from school. We have dance class, and then dinner. Long day.”
“If you need to talk, we’re here,” Nick murmured, and his client gave me a look. His client had been part of Montgomery Ink Legacy since we opened and knew all about Marley. Had even come to Marley’s funeral. He’d also been there during the fire when we almost lost everything. He was a good man. I knew the pity on his face was because he knew exactly where I was going this weekend.
Every other weekend Nora went to her grandparents’ house—Marley’s parents. In most cases that would be fine, it wouldn’t be a cause to worry and no one would stress out. In my case, it was a ball full of pity and guilt and horridness.
Marley’s parents had never liked me. When we were just kids running around in a wild trio of me, Marley, and Raven, her parents hadn’t liked me. I had been the boy in the girl group, and they hadn’t understood that. And when we had started dating, they hated the fact that it was me Marley had chosen. They hadn’t liked how loud my family was, that we were tattooed and pierced and too crazy for them.
They hadn’t liked the fact that my family owned businesses and were blue-collar all the way.
We took care of our own, and we might be loud and love cheese, but we worked our asses off and were always there for each other. Each of us as teens, while still in high school, held part-time jobs. We all learned responsibility and how to take care of family.
We hadn’t been the right people for Marley, according to her parents.
Marley’s parents were ultra-religious, so the fact that Marley and I had not only had premarital sex, but had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, had been the final straw.
They’d thrown away Marley’s birth control pills, because in their mind if Marley didn’t have birth control, she wouldn’t have sex. And condoms, as everybody knows, weren’t one hundred percent preventive. So, one had failed, and we ended up with Nora. And I would not regret having Nora in my life no matter what.
Nora’s grandparents hated me. Because according to them it was because of me Marley wasn’t here. And I had to face that every time I saw them.
I said my goodbyes and headed toward Nora’s school to pick her up. This afternoon was only a short dance class, a meeting for the parents while the kids worked out some energy. Maybe forty-five minutes they told me, so I knew it would take an hour, and then I would have to untangle Nora from her two best friends, Molly and Shane, and then we could head home and make dinner and get ready for the last day of the week. The last day of the week that happened to be the opening day for the café next door, so I knew that our new neighbor would be busy too.
And then after school I’d have to give my daughter over to Marley’s grandparents. Because that’s what the courts said.
Marley died before she had ever been able to hold Nora. She’d not only had a heart attack while giving birth, something not unheard of but very rare, by the time she’d made it through, she’d ended up with an embolism that had taken her fully from us.
I hadn’t been there for the birth. I’d been forced out into the waiting room. And when I was finally able to hold my daughter, I knew that I’d never hold Marley again.
Marley’s parents had tried to take Nora from me right away. They hadn’t thought I was fit as a father, even though I was an adult, with a full-time job and going to college, they had wanted to raise Nora their way.
Then they had taken me to court.
It cost me thousands of dollars just to prove that I was fit to be Nora’s father. They had railed and rallied against me, had used their strict upbringing and their connections with their church and the local politicians to get what they wanted.
In the end they failed. The big and brash Montgomerys with all their ink and piercings and tattoo shops and construction work had won. Only I still had to give my daughter to them two weekends out of the month so they could spend time with her.
And I hated the fact that I couldn’t say no. I wanted Nora to know her family, and not just mine. I just wished that Marley’s parents would get it through their skulls that they didn’t have to hate me in order to love her.
I pulled into the school parking lot and Nora ran right to me.
We had our routine—I got her into her seat and she spoke the entire time, never stopping for anything other than breath.
“And then, Molly said that she was going to go as the purple princess, so I’m going to go as the pink one, and Shane said he would go as the blue prince but now he might want to be a princess just so that way we all match. We don’t really know because we have to figure out the costumes but what do you think?”
My temples ached and I looked back up into the mirror so I could see her face.
“For Halloween?”
“Yes. But we might want to change this too. Because what if we don’t want to go as the prince and princesses of Color Pop?”
Color Pop was a random TV show that made my ears bleed, but the kids loved it. Of course, she had wanted to be Marvel characters with them the previous week, and before that, something from the Adams Family. She’d even mentioned her favorite Disney Princess, Ariel. She’d most likely end up with two costumes. One with her friends for their party and trick or treating, the other for the Montgomery party we were having at my house Halloween night.
“Okay, Halloween is coming up, so how about next week when you’re home from Grandma and Grandpa’s, we’ll go over everything together. Me and Molly’s and Shane’s parents can sit down and we’ll make a group costume decision together. But once we make the decision, we have to stick with it.”
Nora pressed her lips together, tapped her chin with her tiny little finger and looked deep in thought. I had to press my lips together as well, so I didn’t burst out laughing. Seriously, my daughter was fricking adorable. I put my eyes back on the road and pulled into the dance studio’s parking lot.
“I think that’s reasonable,” Nora said, and I held back a laugh.
I got out of the car just as Molly’s mom got out of her SUV. Little Shane and Molly hopped right out and waved. The three hugged each other, dancing around as if they hadn’t seen each other less than ten minutes ago.
I met Molly’s mom’s gaze and rolled my eyes.
She laughed. “They went with Color Pop?” she asked, her voice high-pitched at the end.
I shook my head and gestured for the kids to head inside.
“Apparently. I told Nora that I’d try to get us all to meet next week so we can make a decision.”
“Sounds good. Molly’s dad is out of town for the next two weeks, but then he comes home and will be home for the rest of the year, thank the gods,” she said.
Molly’s dad was a contract worker who was out of the country for long stretches of time. It sucked, but it was good money. Shane’s parents both worked full-time, so we took turns with carpooling. The only reason we hadn’t driven together today was since Molly and Shane lived in the same neighborhood, we took turns when we could.
The dance meeting was simple, mostly prep for the holiday pageant, something to do with snowflakes and glitter. I sighed and took notes because I would have to make Nora’s costume. I might be an artist when it came to drawing, but I could not sew correctly to save my life.
Molly’s mom looked at me and raised a brow. “Are you going to need help this year?”
I shook my head. “No, I think one of my cousins can help. My family is always up in my business for something, might as well use it for good.”
She laughed. “Well, I may need to hire them, because I have no idea what I’m doing, and we both know Shane’s parents aren’t going to have the time.”
I nodded tightly. We took turns, trying to help each other out. Molly’s mom was an amazing baker, so she always helped with the baked goods when it came to all three kids. Shane’s parents did weekend sleepovers, and any time there was a group event over the weekend for more than a few hours, they took care of it. I tended to work on weekends because it worked better for my clients, so our three families working together was like having an extra family unit.
“I’ll see what my mom says. They’re all really good about helping out.”
“Thank you. Seriously. I cannot sew. I wish I could just pick something out of a catalog, but that would probably be ridiculously expensive.”
“I feel you.”
We took our forms in, and then I piled Nora back into the car, pulling her away from her two best friends.
“You’ll see them tomorrow at school. It’s fine.”
“But I love them,” Nora said so dramatically, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“You’ll see them all next week too.”
“But Molly and Shane are going to have tea this weekend. And I can’t.”
I sighed, hating this part. “I’m sorry, pumpkin. But your grandparents are excited to see you.”
I had no idea if that was the case or not, but I would lie to protect my daughter. I didn’t fucking care.
“But I don’t want to go,” Nora said, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.
I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut. I hated this, and there was nothing I could do about it. I pulled over into a parking lot and turned around to look at her.
“I’m sorry, baby. But you love your grandparents. And they love you. It’s your time with them. It’s always good to have time with your family.”
“I want to stay with other Grandma and Grandpa. I love them. Can’t we live with them again?”
I shook my head. When Nora had first been born, I moved back in with my parents, instead of staying in the small apartment I had shared with a few of my cousins. It was just easier for everybody, and I relied heavily on my parents and their big hearts for the first few years of Nora’s life. Nora had shared my room, because I hadn’t wanted to part with her, and eventually she ended up with her own room at my parents’ house, and my parents hadn’t batted an eye. They’d given up everything for me and my siblings, and then for their grandchild.
When we moved into the rental we were currently living in, Nora had hated leaving her grandparents, and so had I. But we had needed the independence, and now we were a unit.
Only, every other weekend, it felt like hell.
“You’ll have fun. You always do.”
She pouted, then wiped her tears. “Okay. I’ll go. I guess. But it just makes me miss Mommy more.” She rubbed her tummy, and I reached out and squeezed her little foot.
“I miss Mommy too. But I love you, okay? I love you so much.”
She nodded and wiped her tears, before she went on about her Halloween costume, using that resilience of any five-year-old.
I swallowed hard before pulling back onto the road, grateful we weren’t far from home. We needed to make dinner, go through homework, and I needed to find someone to help me sew. Because it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me.
We pulled into the garage, and saw Raven struggling with a large box out of the back of her SUV.
“Can we go see Raven?” Nora asked, clapping her hands, tears long forgotten.
I sighed, wondering why I felt so weird. Raven had been our best friend, too. Nora knew her face, knew that she had been friends with Marley. This shouldn’t feel weird, but it did.
“Let’s go help,” I said, after I got out of the car and Nora unbuckled herself, a big enough girl to do it. And didn’t that just break my heart. How the hell was she growing up so fast?
We moved towards Raven, as she was still struggling, and I picked up the pace. As she stumbled, I reached around her, gripping the bottom of the box, my front pressed to her back.
She screamed, then looked over. “Oh my God. You scared the shit out of me.” Then she winced, seeing Nora. “I mean crap? Is that a curse?”
“It’s not a curse because adults can say it. But I can’t,” Nora explained. “We’re here to help.”
I was still pressed directly to Raven’s back, and I did my best to will my cock to behave, because if I wasn’t careful, she was going to feel exactly how excited I was to see her. And that was not something I wanted to think about.
“Oh, I’ve got this. Thank you.”
“Here, seriously let me help.” I lifted the box as she wiggled out from between me and her car. That wiggling sent that very luscious ass of hers to press against me even more, and I swallowed hard, angling so she wouldn’t feel me. Apparently I needed to get laid because just that slight friction nearly sent me over the edge. I was blaming the length of time, not the fact that it was Raven. Because fuck that.
“Where is this going?” I asked, as I hefted the box. It was heavy, but I worked out. Probably too many hours because of said tension, but I again pushed those thoughts from my mind.
“Oh you don’t have to help. Seriously.”
“Let me help. I’ve got it.”
“Daddy’s strong. He has all those muscles,” Nora explained as she took Raven’s hand and led her into her own house.
I just shook my head, as Raven blushed.
“Well, I’m grateful for those muscles.” She sputtered, looked at me, and looked away, as I followed her into the living room.
“Right here’s fine. They’re more of my pots and pans from storage. You know, pastry things.”
“You bake? Aunt Aria said you bake.”
“I do. Do you like baked goods?”
“I love cupcakes.”
“Well, are you allergic to anything?” Raven asked sweetly, as she knelt down to Nora’s level.
I set the box down, shaking my head, wondering why it felt as if Raven and Nora had known each other forever, even though this was one of the first times they were actually meeting since Nora was an infant.
“Nope. I’m good. I love cream cheese frosting though. At least that’s what Daddy says.”
Nora looked at me with wide eyes, pleading, and I saw the glint there.
I shook my head. “You’re a menace. But yes, we both love cream cheese frosting. But please don’t bake anything for us. You already see how hyper this one is without the sugar.”
Raven laughed. “I always need taste testers for the café. However, I will not add sugar highs to the agenda.” When Nora pouted, Raven laughed. “Hey, even I get sugar highs sometimes and then I’m scary to be around. I understand.”
“You’re not scary, you’re beautiful.” Nora reached out and played with the pink strand of Raven’s hair. “I love this.”
Raven’s whole face changed, going a little wide-eyed and sweet.
Raven was gorgeous, but she always had been. “We’re not coloring your hair pink. Your school won’t let it. You know it.”
“Okay. But Aunt Maya said maybe one day.”
My Aunt Maya had multicolored hair a lot of the time, as did her children. But her children were my age, so that was fine.
“Maybe one day. But not right now.”
“I didn’t get pink hair until I was in my twenties,” Raven explained.
“But that’s so old,” Nora said, with the innocence of a five-year-old.
Raven snorted. “Please say that around your Aunt Aria. Just so I can see the look on her face,” Raven teased.
“I’m standing right here as well, and I’m not old,” I said, teasing, as I held out my hand for Nora. “Let’s give Raven some privacy. We have homework to do, and dinner.”
“Okay. Bye, Raven. I like your hair, and your cupcakes. And I’ll see you soon?” She waved, before she skipped away, talking me with her. “I’m leaving now.”
“Thank you for everything. And I’ll see you tomorrow for opening day.”
I nodded tightly. “Good luck. And we Montgomerys will be there. We support local businesses.”
“Especially your renters,” she teased. I wondered why that teasing did something to me. What the hell was wrong with me?
I left, and told myself that I was just tired, I wasn’t losing my mind. But I had a feeling I was once again lying to myself.